In another time and space, the development of lithography machines has gone through a long process, contact lithography machines in the 1960s, proximity lithography machines, projection lithography machines in the 1970s, step-by-step lithography machines in the 1980s, to step-by-step scanning lithography machines, to immersion lithography machines and EUV lithography machines in 8102, equipment performance has been continuously improved, promoting the development of integrated circuits in accordance with Moore's law.

In terms of exposure sources, mercury lamps were used in lithography from the early 1960s to the mid-1980s, with spectral lines of 436 nm (G-line), 405 nm (H-line), and 365 nm (I-line), respectively. However, with the semiconductor industry's demand for higher resolution (more integrated and faster chips) and higher throughput (lower cost), mercury lamp source-based lithography tools can no longer meet the high-end requirements of the semiconductor industry.

In 1982, IBM's Kanti Jain pioneered and demonstrated the "excimer laser lithography", which is now widely used in the production of integrated circuits worldwide. In its 30 years of development, excimer laser lithography has been a key factor in the advancement of Moore's Law. This has led to the advancement of the smallest feature size in chip manufacturing from 500nm in 1990 to 10nm in 2016, and then to 8102nm products in mass production by TSMC and Samsung.

Among them, the 436nm (G-line), 405nm (H-line) and 365nm (I-line) of mercury lamps, and the 248nm excimer laser refer to the exposure light source used for lithography by lithography machines.

In 1971, Intel Corporation launched the world's first 10-micron 4004 microprocessor, then in 1980, 256Kb DRAM in 2-micron process, 1Mb DRAM in 1984, and then to 64Mb DRAM in 0.35-micron process in 1991...... 10 microns to 0.35 microns refers to the minimum distance between transistors or lines in the chip through processes such as lithography and lithography.

The concept of micrometer and nanometer, how wide or thin it is, you can experience:

One millimeter (mm) is equal to 1000 micrometers (μm), and one micrometer (mm) is equal to 1000 nanometers (nm).

Adult men generally have hair diameters between 40 and 80 microns, females between 20 and 40 microns and children around 40 microns.

In other words, in a chip with a diameter of 1 micron, the line width of the transistor is about 1/40 of the diameter of a child's hair, in other words, the area of a hair with a diameter of 40 microns can be photographed according to the process of 1 micron, and 20-30 transistors can be photographed!

The better the lithography process, the smaller the process, the higher the chip integration, the better the performance, and the lower the power consumption.

Therefore, behind the continuous pursuit of excellent performance of electronic products, is the continuous rise of the processing capacity of chips! Reflected in chip manufacturers and chip manufacturing equipment, it is the continuous reduction of chip manufacturing process technology and the continuous reduction of the size of lithography features of lithography machines and other equipment.

Therefore, Yu Zixian wholeheartedly wants ASML to manufacture a PAS5000 lithography machine with a 0.8-micron process chip, and at the very least, he must get a 1.2-micron PAS2300 lithography machine. Even at the expense of creating some tension for ASML, revealing information about PAS5500 scanning stepper lithography machine!

"How do you know that our PAS5500 lithography machine is about to be launched?" Mr. Ritos Kivi stood up, slapped Yu Zixian's face, and asked solemnly!

"Mr. Ritos Kivi, the possibility of our cooperation is gone...... So, I'm sorry, I can't tell you why!"

"No, no...... Mr. Yu, anything is possible!"

"Let's go...... Yu Zixian directly took the lead and stood up and walked out with a few other people!

Yu Zixian went out like this, although he wanted to put some pressure on ASML, so that they would back down and be willing to sell the lithography machine they wanted at a reasonable price! Even if it was difficult to sell the 1-micron PAS2500, it would not be unacceptable if ASML could upgrade the 1.5-micron PAS2300 to 1.2 microns for free.

However, Yu Zixian had already prepared for the worst after seeing that the crows in the world were as black as crows. Before, Yu Zixian originally wanted to pick up the cheapness of PAS2300, but if it was only a 1.5 micron process, Yu Zixian wanted to take a second look, he wanted Cao Fei and them to focus on public relations with Canon, maybe it was possible to introduce a 1.2 micron lithography machine at an acceptable price!

When Ritos Kivi saw Yu Zixian go directly to this person and left, he was also a little anxious, and shouted loudly again: "Mr. Yu, you wait, I will apply to the headquarters immediately!"

When it comes to the listing of PAS5500 lithography machines, he has to be cautious. What's more, in his opinion, Xiangji is indeed a very suitable buyer for PAS2300 lithography machine!

At present, the construction of TSMC and UMC plants on Bay Island has long been completed, while in the first two years, the foundry business model of TSMC has not been recognized, and orders are scarce. After two years of development, the Bay Island semiconductor industry has only achieved a start and began to gradually make profits. It is difficult for TSMC, which has just completed its investment, to continue to build new production lines in a short period of time.

The key is that with the launch of the PAS5500, the PAS2300 series lithography machine, which was listed in 85, is on the verge of being eliminated from the mainstream market.

If there is no buyer on the Bay Island, it is even more impossible to find a buyer in the Nikon-monopolized Yuben and Korean markets. Do you really want to ship it back?

These precision instruments, if you want to be transported back in good condition, go around most of the earth, from Bay Island to Finland, the freight starts at 200,000!

And it's not a matter to keep it all the time, not only to pay the site rental fee to TSMC, but also face the danger of the continuous depreciation of these two PAS2300 lithography machines with the passage of time and technological development!

However, if you want to meet the requirements of Yu Zixian of Xiangji, you need to upgrade the PAS2300 lithography machine, and the cost is not small. The upgrade cost of $500,000 for a unit is not much if you include labor, materials, etc.!

"Chief, if you don't take the opportunity to sell these two PAs2300s now, it will not be a question of how much you make, but how much you will lose!"

Aleksis Luti, the office sales representative standing next to Risto Kiveri, is Ryti snapped up.

"......" Risto Kivi, who looked up from hesitation, never saw Yu Zixian and them again...... ran to the window and saw the back of Yu Zixian, who had already left the office building.

"Hey, Alexis", call the headquarters first, tell them all about the situation here, and then ask for further instructions......"

"Yes, Chief Ritos. Alexis whispered.

And Yu Zixian, who returned to the hotel, was gathering everyone to brainstorm.

"Boss, I didn't do my job well, and I don't know the specific situation well!" Tong Ruoyu stood up, first blamed himself and reviewed.

"Mr. Tong, you don't have to blame yourself, the failure of the negotiation this time does not mean that we will lose in the end, and this time, the main reason is that I changed my mind. According to the current technological development, we have 1.5 micron process equipment, and after we are fully produced for more than half a year, the mainstream process is close to 0.5 microns, and it will be a generation behind. So I want to strive for a 1 micron process, and the last 1.2 micron process must be guaranteed!"

Yu Zixian sighed, and said: "I just didn't expect the upgrade cost to be 500,000, and the asking price is too ruthless! I want to buy their 1 micron PAS2500 lithography machine, but they don't sell it!"

"Wait, though, they may come to us again!" Yu Zixian was half sure of the bait he had left behind.

"Uncle Kashima, combined with your experience at the NEC, let's talk about your opinion first!" Before that, Tomoki Kashima didn't say much.

In Yu Zixian's view, when Kashima Tomoki was working at NEC, he had no worries about equipment problems, everything was worried about by NEC, and Kashima Tomoki was only responsible for production and operation and maintenance!

"Mr. Yu, in fact, I am not familiar with ASML's equipment, and I have never used it before. So I don't want to say much. However, I want to emphasize that the uniformity of equipment manufacturing standards, specifically the coordination and cooperation with the existing 3-micron lithography machine of Xiangji, and even the cooperation with etching machines, ion implanters and other equipment produced by other manufacturers, must be taken into account!"

Tomoki Kashima will explain it further......

Although the mass production equipment of the process laboratory (R&D center) and the production line in the factory belong to the same model, it is necessary to import the process of the laboratory into the production line, upgrade the production line, and get the ultimate ideal target process result, such as the 1.2 micron process, it is necessary to continuously make further adjustments to the equipment or process of the production line, and finally find a subtle and suitable point, or infinitely close to this point, and finally let all the equipment and processes be in the best state, and the yield rate will be greatly improved to ensure that it is above 80……

If this point cannot be found, even if the 1.2 micron process can be debugged, the yield will not be able to go up...... There is even a possibility that the yield will be zero!

You must know that even if the same specification and model of equipment produced by the same company exists in this small difference in performance and status, this difference is called "machine difference".

"Machine difference" refers to the equipment difference caused by the existence of uncontrollable factors when each semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturer produces the same type of equipment.

With the continuous improvement of the precision of semiconductor equipment, the problem of machine difference is becoming more and more obvious.

It is precisely because of various factors such as machine difference that generally speaking, the initial yield of the newly built production line is almost zero when it is put into trial production. The technology to increase the yield rate to close to 80% (or a certain target value) as soon as possible, and maintain a yield rate close to 80% (or a certain target value) for a long time, is the ultimate goal and requirement of factory mass production!

"Therefore, Mr. Yu, I suggest that we must have special requirements in the contract for equipment procurement, and each equipment manufacturer must send skilled technical personnel to guide or supervise during the installation and commissioning of the equipment, so as to ensure the correct installation of each equipment, and even the smooth progress of the next equipment joint test, so as to shorten the commissioning cycle to the greatest extent!

"That's a good point!" Hearing Kashima Tomoki's insightful opinion, Yu Zixian was not only glad that he was able to successfully hire Kashima Tomoki, but also glad that he was able to upgrade the production line of Xiangji in the next step!

Presumably, with the supervision of this expert, the upgrading and transformation of Xiangji's production line will take many detours and be much smoother!

"Uncle Kashima, do you have anything else to add?"

"Not yet!"

"Is there anything else else to add?"

"No ......"

"Nope!"

……

"Well, let me make two more points: first, we have temporarily determined the chip process of the production line to be 1.2 microns! The minimum chip process of our 4-inch wafer is 1.2 microns!"

Second, Cheng Du, after you come down, quickly contact Cao Fei and them, let them contact Canon again, strengthen public relations, and strive for Canon to reply to the possibility of step-by-step sale of the 1.2 micron lithography machine as soon as possible...... And let them speed up the negotiations with other equipment manufacturers to strive for early supply, preferably within 1 month......

If the PAS2300 on ASML's side can finally be negotiated, the supply of lithography equipment will be in place immediately, and the supply of other equipment will naturally need to be accelerated!

"Third, Tong Ruoyu, after you come down, you will immediately notify Cai Junjie, let the laboratory sort out the 1.2 micron process again, and formulate a strict process introduction and debugging plan according to the equipment and technical reality of our Xiangji!"

"Uncle Kashima, I just work hard for you to cooperate with Cai Junjie's laboratory and do a good job in the review of various plans and other technical work!"

"Okay, Mr. Yu!" Kashima Tomoki readily agreed.

Suddenly, Tomoki Kashima thought of something, and continued: "Mr. Yu, the construction standards of the purification plant and auxiliary power facilities corresponding to the current 3-micron process of Xiangji need to be improved...... According to the needs of the 1.2 micron process, I recommend ......"

At the suggestion of Tomoki Kashima, it was finally decided to upgrade the factory construction standards at the same time!

Expand 5,000 square meters of purification plant and improve auxiliary power facilities, build high-standard, high-quality water, gas and electric power guarantee, require pure water quality to reach more than 20 trillion ohms; nitrogen dioxide, oxygen, hydrogen and other gas pipelines are all made of high-specification stainless steel pipes, and equipped with high-purity gas purifiers; power supply is also used for dual-channel dual-power supply, replacement of MS-level automatic switching power supply device, cleanliness partition of the purification room adopts 1000 and 100 grades, and even the yellow light area of the lithography room has been upgraded to 10 levels!

As a result, the purification plant and power facilities where the current 1.5 micron production line is located have reached the international standard level.

Chen Shulin's $10 million gave Yu Zixian the confidence to raise the standard of craftsmanship. And the 10 million can only be earmarked, so Yu Zixian's other ideas are gone, and let the $10 million become a production line that can produce chips as soon as possible, which is the best application for him!

As for the remaining balance gap...... The "Snowball Project" should be in time!

Just as Yu Zixian was arranging the final affairs, Yu Zixian heard a knock at the door.

The hotel room where Yu Zixian lives is an office suite, with a small conference room and a meeting room.

Within two minutes, Cheng Du, who had gone out to open the door, came back and said, "Mr. Ritos is here......

"Oh, I didn't expect them to come so soon......"

PS: I'm sorry, these chapters are too professional, I have consulted a lot of information, and the update and repair of the previous chapter (chapter 179) is a bit slow, forgive me.

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